


A Sky Full of Stars

by mayflower_me



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Angst, Crescent Moon "Cress" Darnel/Jacin Clay, Drabble, Drabble Collection, Drabble Sequence, F/M, Fluff, Janette - Freeform, Mama Thorne, Non-Canon Relationship, Scarlet Benoit/Kai (Lunar Chronicles), Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, but not really, carder?, cinthorne?, cinwell, kinda OOC, weird timeline, what are we calling this ship?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-31 13:36:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18592312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayflower_me/pseuds/mayflower_me
Summary: "I missed you too."A collection of drabbles featuring Linh Cinder and Carswell Thorne.





	A Sky Full of Stars

**Author's Note:**

> DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters in this story (unless specifically stated otherwise) or the world of The Lunar Chronicles series; both belong to the lovely Marissa Meyer. However, their thoughts and actions in this particular fanfic are mine.
> 
> [cross posted on Wattpad]

**_The Red Slipper_ ** _: Part I_

 

_“Of all the tales_

_in all the kingdoms_

_in all the Woods,_

_you had to walk into mine.”_

 

The Last Ever After, Soman Chainani.

 

 

Cinder was nothing like Kate Fallow.

Thorne risked a glance at the young mechanic, tampering away with one of the many faulty circuit boards of the ship, and frowned to himself. 

She was prickly where Kate was soft, and a smart-mouthed contrast to the latter’s gentle naiveté. If Cinder were a flower, Thorne decided, she’d be a cactus.

“Can I _help_ you?” Cinder asked cooly, not even looking up from the panel full of wires before her. They were sitting in the farthest recesses of the ship, where all the.. _more complicated_ , as he liked to call it, parts of the Rampion were located.

The faint sound of the net screen broadcast bounced off the unopened wooden crates stacked up against the walls.

**_“Fugitives Linh Cinder and Carswell Thorne have continued to evade the authorities—”_ **

Thorne shot her what-would-have-been a dazzling smile, had she noticed, and scooted closer to peer over her shoulder. It had been over a week since they had broken out of prison, stole Thorne’s ship ( _borrowed_ sounds better) and set course for a destination that Cinder had yet to inform him of.

“Actually Miss Linh,” a nearly imperceptible shift of Cinder’s shoulders was the only sign of her surprise, “I should hope you can.”

In one fluid motion Thorne unfolded his long legs and bent over— plucking the screwdriver out of Cinder’s palm, the metal one (he realized to no small amount of satisfaction), as he stood up. Cinder frowned at her empty palm, and then again at the tool hovering above her head; opening her mouth to protest against his blatant violation of her personal space— until he reached out and tapped her on the forehead with it.

“Now that I have your attention-“ she scowled, rubbing the faint red mark, “-would you be so kind as to tell me where we’re going?”

“To Europe” she said matter-of-factly, holding out her arm for the tool.

“Europe” he repeated flatly, as he held it out of her reach, “Not like that’s a big place or anything”

“Thorne-“

“ _Cinder-_ “ He interrupted, clarity brightening his blue eyes, “I’m not an idiot”

She pursed her lips into a thin, flat line and turned away.

It had been like this for the past eight days. Ever since he’d brought her system back to life (after she collapsed powering the ship), Cinder had been noticeably closed off. Busying herself with fixing one thing or another, she found any excuse not to be around him; as though a single moment of vulnerability, was a moment too much.

He let out a defeated sigh and propped down next to her as she resumed her tinkering.

Thorne too had kept a certain amount of distance. He didn’t like the idea that his new comrade had wires plugged into her head, or that she was programmed in any way. He remembered his relationship with robots— from his childhood pet (an android-cat named Boots) to the escort-droids working at his family home— to be mutually, well, **_upsetting_**.

Not that Cinder was a robot, of course. Though she seemed to be trying very hard to pretend otherwise.

“I-” Cinder’s fingers froze.

“I know you don’t trust me" 

She blinked at him then, an excuse hovering on the tip of her tongue, ready to spill through her lips. But when she opened her mouth, the words deserted her.

“I know we’ve only known each other for a week-“ he glanced down at the screwdriver in hands, “but you can’t keep shutting me out, Cinder”

“I’m not-“ she began, but was quickly cut off by Thorne’s raised brow.

Ignoring the expression on his face, (it looked a _little_ too much like concern), Cinder huffed and reached past him to pull the toolbox closer to herself.

“I can help you do.. whatever it is you’re doing” he prodded again, attempting a grin, “even the best convicts need help from time to time”

“He’s right, you know”

Both Cinder and Thorne started at the disembodied voice reverberating against the walls— neither of them were used to Iko’s new omnipresent existence— drowning out the soothing hum of the live broadcast.

“Iko!” The mechanic’s voice bordered on scolding, “We agreed- no eavesdropping!”

“You need all the help you can get-“ the android prattled on obliviously, “-you’re a wanted woman now-”

Cinder could practically hear the swoon in her voice; Iko thought this was all straight out of a net drama— daring and terribly romantic.

 _Yeah, she thought, if losing your home, your life_ **_and_ ** _the boy you might’ve been falling for— all in a day— was romantic._

“-at least forty-eight countries by my last count-“

“Forty-eight?!” Thorne replied, scandalized, “I’m only wanted in forty-two! That can’t be right!”

“Not to mention The Prince— uhh.. _Emperor_ still has that warrant on your head-“

_ENOUGH—_

Cinder let loose a sigh, burying her head in her hands, before realizing she’d said that out loud. Her processors seemed to be trying to cool the rising temperature in her face and her vision quickly filled with painfully cheery green text, advising her to calm down, and take deep breaths. She had managed to last a week (one _whole_ week) without thinking of him.

Kai.

_You’re even more painful to look at than she is._

The words stung; salt in the already gaping wound that took up most of her heart. But really- what had she expected? That he would welcome her with open arms? That he would accept her? That he would understand?

That he would still **_like her_**?

 _Sure—_ she snorted to herself— _what’s not to like about a potentially crazy cyborg-lunar-princess-felon on the run_. She didn’t blame him; she was too much of a mess to be liked anyway.

Once Cinder straightened, she realized that Iko’s voice had quieted and noticed Thorne studying the half opened circuit board carefully. She had to admit, he was smarter than she gave him credit for. 

“Look, Thorne-” his eyes snapped back to hers immediately, “I- I’m not good at trusting.”

He blinked.

“I don’t really have the greatest track record with most people- and the people I _do_ trust end up dead. Or end up hating me” Cinder tried her best not to look at the faint glow of the net screen at the front of the ship. Tried her best not to recall Kai’s face.

“I just—“

**_"We interrupt this broadcast to bring you a special message from Emperor Kaito of—"_ **

Her breath caught in her throat.

The net screen flickered out almost immediately, cutting short the transmit and pitching the ship into an almost blackness as the system rebooted.

Cinder made a mental note to thank Iko for her well-meant overreaction as air forced its way back into her lungs; silence blooming between the two human members of the crew as they waited for the lights to turn back on. 

“It’s okay” Thorne shrugged finally, once they could see each other's faces, “The offer still stands though—”

“You never know when you might need a handsome captain to swoop in and save the day” he winked, diffusing the tension almost immediately.

“If only we had a captain here” Cinder shook her head and smiled, feeling both guilty and relieved that he didn’t push the subject.

Just a small twitch of the lips— the ghost of a grin— but Thorne still blinked in surprise. It was the first time he’d seen her smile since they met.

“What?”

She looked a lot softer when she smiled.

“Nothing”

Thorne handed her back the screwdriver and rose to check the net live broadcast, fighting a smile of his own. 

“Iko?”

“Yeah?” came the disembodied voice, tinged with something resembling satisfaction.

“Set course for a little town called Rieux, off the coast of France”

“Yes ma’am” she chirped.

“And— Thorne?” 

“Hm?” He turned back.

She wasn’t looking at him; her gloved hands were back to fiddling with the circuit board and if Thorne didn’t know any better, he would’ve sworn she was embarrassed. 

“I can try it. The uh.. trust thing. No promises though.”

This time he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

Cinder was nothing like Kate Fallow. She wasn’t sweet, was hardly ever kind, and seemed to posses an irrefutable immunity to his charms that, quite frankly, drove him a little mad. But he didn’t mind. Not really. Heaven knows he had met more dangerous people in his life than a spirited android and a girl who hid her heart in a metal cage.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story is basically just a collection of drabbles and moments that happen within the timeline of the canon universe. Some might include AU (Alternate Universe) scenes which will although impact the characters, not have any significant effect on the overall progression of the story or the journey. I haven't read Stars Above yet, therefore consider yourself warned that this most likely won't include any content from that book.
> 
> Another vital point- yes this book is about Cinder and Thorne and yes I do ship them romantically; if you have a passionate hate for this ship, well, this is your cue to go. Any hateful comments will be deleted as I see fit- I'm not here to start ship wars.
> 
> Constructive criticism on my writing is definitely welcome- and if you like the story please leave a star and/or a comment! I'd love to answer any questions regarding the story itself! Thanks a bunch!


End file.
